Vegeta's Odyssey
by Nicator
Summary: Vegeta leaves Earth in search of his ascension. What he will find however will plunge him into reflections of both his far and near past as well as the future. An exploration of Vegeta's journey into space during the 3 years with retrospective sequences. Rated M for adult and violent themes. Lemons in later chapters.
1. Prologue

Stellar Odyssey

_Vegeta leaves Earth in search of his ascension. What he will find however will plunge him into reflections of both his far and near past as well as the future. _

_An exploration of Vegeta's journey into space during the 3 years with retrospective sequences. _

Rated M for adult and violent themes. Lemons in later chapters.

_Italic = _thoughts or emphasis when within citations.

**Bold = **emphasized thoughts

He had spent more time on that heap of rock than he had anywhere else since his childhood, yet few other planets could rival the contempt Vegeta held for it. The Earth despite its docile existence was the culmination of everything wrong in his life.

A ball of rock and earth partially coated in water and misted by clouds spinning on the outskirts of the universe, a most fertile planet far away from the chaos that plagues the more central systems. It's populace utterly oblivious to the forces that could erase their existence in a mere moment. Though the planet certainly had its inequities, it was certainly a relatively harmonious planet compared to the rest of the universe, but that would probably be due to the rest of the universe being an enormous involuntary enterprise of misery and suffering .

How could it be that such a pathetic race as humanity could endure whilst the saiyan race was on the verge of extinction? _The strong go on and the weak perish, that was the secret fate of all life, _Vegeta reminded himself_._ It was just wrong that the Earth should still exist. _A mistake to be rectified, _Vegeta thought. _So why don't I just destroy the rock and leave it all behind_? It would be clean and easy, all record and memory of his failures were neatly collected on one small speck in a backwater part of the universe. He could just erase it and forget it ever existed. _Then why don't I? _Vegeta wondered.

Vegeta was standing at the helm of the control bay of his ship, looking down at the planet, contemplating. The spaceship was an impressive scientific accomplishment. It matched his old attack balls in speed, yet ruthlessly outclassed them in comfort, without mentioning the gravity enhancer. The designer, despite being an insufferable harlot, did know a thing or two about engineering a spaceship.

_One and a half years earlier._

Vegeta was aimlessly prowling the corridors of Capsule corp hoping to discover something to occupy his time with. A hard task, considering he had no idea what he was trying to find. He had an intense urge to train, but his host's spaceship no longer posed him a challenge with it's petty 100 times earth's gravity. _Thus, _he was reduced to wandering around without purpose until old four eyes provided him with an upgraded gravity enhancer as he had requested FIVE_ days ago. _

It was all so infuriating that he felt the urge to punch something. Vegeta clenched a fist and was about to let a nearby lamp suffer his wrath. Vegeta drew back his arm to strike, but the sudden apparition of a falling tower, however, froze him into that position. _I'm in control, _Vegeta assured himself, _I'm in control._

"Vegeta?" an annoyingly familiar voice called behind him. Vegeta cursed himself for not detecting the harlot's presence earlier. He had been so absorbed in his own thoughts that he had not noticed her approaching him. Such a mistake may have cost him his dearly just a few months ago. Vegeta stood still staring at the lamp with more intensity than it probably had ever received. He could hear the female' soft footsteps getting closer as well as her sweet scent grow more pungent.

The footsteps stopped just a few meters behind him. "Vegeta?" The woman repeated more gently with a hint of concern. _What is she concerned for? _Vegeta wondered. Vegeta turned his head just enough to see her through his peripheral vision._ Afraid probably._ She was wearing her favourite red dress coated with an orange vest, as well displaying her ridiculous frizzy hair cut.

"What is it woman?" Vegeta asked gruffly.

"_Bulma."_ The female replied sternly.

"What?"

"My name is _Bulma._ I'd prefer if you use my name when you speak to me."

Vegeta could not believe the nerve of the woman. Here he was, one of the most powerful beings in the universe being lectured by a worthless earthling on manners. If she had not been a friend of Kakkarot he would have killed her. Vegeta turned his head and glared down his hostess, trying to rain in his temper, not a simple task when you've been spending half the day hoping to kill something.

"Did you seek me in order to educate me on your pathetic planet's etiquette, or do you have something I would actually care to hear?" Vegeta spat through grinding teeth.

Bulma shifted a little in response to Vegeta glare, but did not break eye contact. "I wanted to talk about the upgraded gravity engine you demanded from my dad."

"Are the upgrades complete?"

"No, but that's no-."

"Then we have nothing to discuss." Vegeta began to turn to walk away.

"Oh yes we _do_ have something to discuss." Irritation became transparent in her voice.

Vegeta's interest was awaken by the woman's growing wroth. Vegeta crossed his arms over his chest. He was wearing a black hooded jumper that clung tightly, not surprising considering it had once belonged to scrawny old four eyes.

"Let's hear it," Vegeta sighed, still looking away from her.

"You need to stop harassing my dad about those upgrades. He's getting old and doesn't need to work himself to death."

"I'll leave your father alone as soon as he stops stalling and provides the upgrades I requested."

"Listen. I have researched every conceivable way to improve the spaceship's gravity enhancer, but there is no way to achieve more than 150 times Earth's gravity."

"I don't need an idiot woman's evaluation. Tell your father to get to work, or there _will_ be consequences."

Vegeta was about to walk away, when the woman stamped her foot into the floor. Clearly he had pushed her over the edge. "I, for your information, am not an _idiot_."

Vegeta turned to gauge her reaction visually. The woman was clearly struggling to contain her own anger. Her eyes were wide and burning with fury. Vegeta was half-expecting froth to emerge from her mouth.. "And you should also know that the majority of the inventions my father and I have created, were conceived, designed and built by _me_... SO DON'T EVER CALL ME AN IDIOT AGAIN YOU JERK!"

The woman was panting lightly from the strain of her outburst. _She is lively for a pathetic human! _Vegeta could not resist smirking; or incensing her further.

He walked up to the woman so that the space between them was only one meter. When Vegeta spoke, he was calm and quiet. "Your delusions of grandeur don't bother me as long as I get what I need. Remind your father to complete his work, or _maybe._ You could demonstrate this supposedly _grand_ intelligence of yours and do it yourself, but don't exhaust that little head of yourself too much! We wouldn't want you to actually work hard for once in your life."

Bulma glared at Vegeta with her mouth ajar in indignation. Vegeta intentionally laughed too loud for the woman to mount a retort, whilst at the same time walking off, strategically preventing the woman from getting the last retort. He heard the woman groan angrily behind him before stomping off in the opposite direction.

_The present. _

Those first few weeks living at the Briefs residence had consisted purely of training, eating and answering human niceties and small talk with grunts and insults. He begrudgingly had to admit to himself that he enjoyed his verbal confrontations with the woman. It was probably because it had been the only digression he had afforded himself purely for his own enjoyment.

A few days after that episode she had smugly presented him with an upgraded spaceship that could simulate 500 times earth's gravity. Though Vegeta was most impressed by the woman's... _efficency, _he did not care to admit it, opting rather to act indifferent. The entire reason she had completed the upgrades in the first place was because he had questioned her intelligence, thus giving her something to prove. _The last thing she needed was reason to be coy_. Still, Vegeta had to admit, the woman definitely was smart and possessed a sense of pride to match.

_Is that the reason I won't destroy Earth?_ _My respect/admiration/connection_ _to that pathetic female? No,_ his hesitation could not be credited some sort of emotional attachment. The mere suggestion made Vegeta feel ashamed. He had learned the hard way what emotional attachments were; weaknesses. It would be beyond absurd if he relinquished his family and people, only for a pathetic earthling to steal his concern. _Then why can't I just destroy the damn planet? _Vegeta wondered.

_Many years ago._

Vegeta and his father were walking across the yard in the centre of the saiyan royal palace. It was a blisteringly hot day. The only reprieve from the heat was the light wind. However the wind also riled up the sand which bombarded Vegeta's uncovered shins, stinging him mercilessly like a deluge of needles.

The palace itself had been carved out of an enormous red sandstone mountain, transforming the rugged rocks into a smooth walled castle. Vegeta looked up at the king's tower, which served as the royal residence. The long, square structure dominated the golden red skyline around the palace. A few other towers covered the square base of the palace, Vegeta's own included, second only to the tower of his mother and father, however there was no doubt who stood highest.

"Do you know why we choose took this planet from the Tuffles Vegeta?"His father asked in his usual hard voice without breaking his stride.

Uncertain of what to answer, Vegeta looked down at the ground in front of him, wondering.

"Ehm. For the glory of defeating an enemy?" Vegeta finally responded.

"No, though it's not a bad reason, the Tuffles were not a very prestigious opponent. There were many more powerful races we could defeat."

"So we wanted to take their planet for our own?" Vegeta inquired.

"Correct, but why would we desire this planet?"Vegeta and his king father arrived at some steps just outside the entrance to the palace, which overlooked the massive sinuous deserts that stretched into every horizon. "This planet has barely any fertile land, there aren't many mining resources, the gravity is very heavy, not to mention the heat."

Evening was approaching and the usually yellow or orange sky had turned blood red. Vegeta tried to think of an answer, not wanting to disappoint his father, yet he was stumped.

"Why _did _we conquer the planet?"

His father started walking down the steps and gestured Vegeta to follow. When his father reached the sands at the bottom, he knelled down and removed one of his white gloves. He then grabbed a fistful of sand which drifted out between his fingers.

"What makes a strong warrior? And why have are we saiyans the strongest of the warrior races?"

"Because of our strong bloodlines?"

"Strong bloodlines don't just exist of their own volition. They are crafted through generations of struggle and survival. You were born strong because your forefathers dedicated their lives to the way of war. The reason we saiyans desire this planet is the same reason other races don't, it's harshness. Where others see a inhospitable wasteland, we see a challenging environment that will make us stronger. Where others see a undesirable pile of sand, we see _home._" King Vegeta grabbed another handful of sand and squeezed it in his fist. "The Tuffles had no appreciation of this, they did everything they could to adapt the environment to make their lives easier. They pursued leisure rather than strength. They may have lived on this planet, but it never truly belonged to them."

King Vegeta looked down at his son. "Do you understand now? A true saiyan never backs down from a challenge, instead he welcomes it, and confronts it head on, without trying to find an easy alternative."

"Yes father."

His father had turned the sand in his fist into a stone by now, which he carelessly tossed a few hundred meters into the desert before turning around to walk back up the steps.

"Come, your mother wishes to see you."

_Present time. _

Vegeta did not completely understand the meaning of what his father's words at the time. It was strange that he even remembered that lesson, but it was now clear what it had meant.

Vegeta understood why he couldn't simply destroy earth. It wasn't the saiyan way. _What honour would there be in destroying Kakkarot and the androids any other way than by combat_? The woman and his... _relationship _to her was irrelevant. What kind of a warrior would care about some weak female.

Vegeta wrote in some coordinates into the control panel of the ship's mainframe. A few mechanical sounds resonated from the ship's engine room before it sped off, the earth gradually sinking into the vast void of space. Vegeta had a feeling it would be a long journey, but he had to return to earth before the androids arrived in one and half years time. He had a date with death herself and he would not miss it for immortality itself.


	2. On the Road Again

**Author's note: Sorry for the long wait for the first update guys. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Remember to favourite, follow and review. It really helps motivate me. Don't be shy with giving me feedback, I promise to answer any review or PM you send me. I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

_Present time._

Vegeta was showering in the bathroom of the spaceship he had _borrowed_ from capsule corp, whilst wondering about the meaning of trivial concepts.

_What is home? A place of refuge? A place of origin? Or a place you feel a sense of belonging to?_ Ever since his home planet had been destroyed, this issue had been a conundrum. He would rarely spend more than a few months at a time at various space stations or planetary bases. In fact, his one year on Earth was a new record. Vegeta supposed where he was at the moment might be the closest thing he has had to a "home" the last few years: Travelling through the vastness of space in a confined capsule.

During his time in the PTO, The Planet Trade Organization, his attack ball (small round spaceships) had served as a sort of sanctuary. When he was travelling in his ship, nobody could hurt him, except himself of course, thus he was in full control. Whenever Vegeta suffered from one of his rare but, _harsh, _anxiety attacks in his adolescence, he would retreat to his attack ball. And sit there until he had calmed himself down.

Thanks to the stasis mechanism on those spaceships Vegeta even been able to get some kind of consistent sleep those years, without having to worry about cruel nightmares or his _perfectly_ reasonable paranoia of assassins from keeping him awake.

Sometimes when he was younger he would turn off the stasis just to be able to stare into space and think in silence. He had never felt more alone, nor had he ever experienced anything more tranquil.

Vegeta turned off the shower and walked out. It was strange that the spaceship's bathroom was larger than the one he had used at the Brief's compound. Hell, the bathroom was three times more spacious than his old attack ball. Being the sole occupier of a spaceship miles from any other living being, Vegeta did not bother dressing himself in a towel. With nothing to do with his time Vegeta simply stared at himself in the mirror, examining his war marked torso.

The scars evoked emotional dissonance in him. One the one hand they attested to his vast battle experience, something any true warrior would be proud of. On the other hand they displayed a history of recklessness. He had suffered injuries that should have killed him many times over, and they had, _once_. The latest addition of scars in his collection were purely self-inflicted if not intentional. _What was I thinking?_

* * *

_One year earlier on Earth._

The red ambience of the gravity chamber was most appropriate. Entering the chamber and activating the gravity was like entering another dimension. Nothing else seemed to exist outside the spherical dome. The only thing that occupied Vegeta thoughts was the training, and the pain. It was good that it was so, any distractions and he might not avoid the powerful energy blast that was being nimbly targeted at him by some training droids the woman had provided.

Since the upgrades to the gravity enhancer had been added, Vegea's training had intensified to new extremes. He had gradually adapted to training at 350 times earth's gravity, and he had simultaneously grown ever more frustrated with not ascending. That frustration was now boiling his mind over with irrepressible anger. He had arrogantly surpassed the power Kakkarot had when he ascended, yet he just seemed to be missing some sort of trigger or catalyst.

Vegeta was suspecting that he could only ascend just before his body's breaking point and that was what he had been trying to tiptoe closer to. Obviously he had to be careful, as overstepping the small difference between the brink of breaking and _actually_ breaking would have severe consequences. The droids were useful in this regard, as he could not stop the exercise before the blast either hit it's target or diminished into the air.

Today he had been going at it for 16 hours straight. He had started around midnight and just now did Vegeta notice that it was light outside. Just then a blue holographic screen was conjured upon the wall accompanied by an aggravating voice. "HEEEY_ Vegeta_, you haven't come out of the GR to eat or anything for a while, so I just wanted to check if you were alright_." _

Vegeta, floating in the air exhausted, took a deep breath in order to hatefully berate the harlot into oblivion. The newly acquired air however was suddenly knocked out of him, when the energy blast he had been dodging (quite successfully mind you) crashed straight into his solar plexus.

Vegeta fell to his knees and crunched forwards clutching his chest in agony. As well as knocking the air out of him, the blast had bruised and burnt his flesh.

Bulma gasped in horror. "Oh my god! Are you okay?"

Vegeta tried to reply, but all he did was wheeze unintelligibly.

"Hold on, and I'll be over there in just a moment."

"_No!" _Vegeta finally managed to loudly pronounce.

He did not know why, but he felt ashamed that he had so transparently displayed weakness in front of the woman. He slowly rose to his feet and straightened his posture. On the one hand Vegeta wanted to viciously chastise her for interrupting his training, thus discouraging her from any recidivism. But on the other hand he did not want her to interpret the incident as her managing to inflict serious harm upon him. That would be conceding his power. He shouldn't have been distracted by her in the first place. _What is wrong with me? _

Bulma seemed unconvinced of his assurances that he was fine. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"_Yes,_ now leave me alone. I'm not interested in whatever you wanted to tell me." Vegeta tried to add venom to his words, but he just sounded exhausted and deflated.

Bulma gave Vegeta one last concerned once over before sighing. "Okay fine, just know that we have food prepared if you want to take a break or better yet, _call it a day_." The hologram then vanished.

Vegeta just stood there in silence except for the mild hum resonating from the gravity enhancer. Vegeta felt anger starting burn within him. It was unacceptable for him to appear so weak in front of the harlot. _She must have pitied me, showing such concern. _

Impulsively, Vegeta shot a more powerful energy blast for the droids to pass back at him, trying to prove a point, to someone. He did not know who, but _someone_.

* * *

Vegeta could not lucidly remember what had transpired. He just remembered waking to darkness and excruciating pain. He could not move, it was as if he had sunk into solid obsidian. _Am I dead? Is this hell? _Vegeta did not remember what it was like when he died the first time, so for all he knew this was it. It was over, lest he was revived by harlot and her posse of friends. He doubted they would trouble themselves however. They hated him and he hated them and Vegeta would have it no other way. It did not matter, he was meant to have died twice before. The only thing he was dissatisfied with at the moment was his lifelong failure which strung more than physical pain ever could.

Vegeta's self-served obituary was interrupted by the harlot's voice. "_Vegeta_! _Vegeta_!" Her voice cried as if muffled by some sort of inter-dimensional wall. It would be an unspeakable agony, if he had to suffer that harlot's voice for all of eternity.

"_I knew this would happen. He has been trying to do the impossible._" Vegeta recognized that as the scarfaced fool's voice. _What does that weakling know of the impossible? Anything remotely demanding would be impossible for him._

"_Where is he? Vegeta?_" Vegeta heard the woman's voice just above him and some pieces of metal being pulled away. He pinpointed the source of the noise just a few feet away from his right arm. Perhaps if he reached towards the sound he would be resurrected? With what little strength he had left he shot his hand out, surprised to find air tickling his fingers. The action elicited a shriek from the woman above. Vegeta pulled himself out of the wreckage with his arm to find Bulma and Yamcha sitting down, nervously gaping at him. Vegeta was covered in bruises and cuts, small trails of blood trickled down various his torso and limbs.

"You, okay?" Bulma asked with a shaken, soft voice, staring at Vegeta with both bewilderment and concern.

"Of course I am," Vegeta said despite the fact that the entire world seemed to be wobbling and the midsummer light seemed to be piercing his eyes and frying his brain, not to report every broken bone he had sustained. Vegeta unstably rose to his feet.

Bulma sighed in relief, but that relief quickly transformed into indignant outrage. "HOW DARE YOU?! YOU DUIB! YOU ALMOST WRECKED MY HOUSE! WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO PROVE?!" Bulma yelled louder than Vegeta had ever heard her yell before.

Despite everything, Vegeta involuntarily could only find the woman's outburst hilarious. Vegeta chuckled as he tried to straighten his posture. His muscles however started to twitch uncontrollably and Vegeta abruptly fell backwards into the rubble.

Bulma whimpered in surprise, apparently her deep concern re-emerged. "Waa! OH NO! You're hurt!" Bulma suddenly emerged at Vegeta's side. She wrapped her left arm around Vegeta's back to help him sit up and placed her right hand on his chest. It was the strangest sensation he'd ever felt, her cold, soft hands caressing his burningly agonizing flesh. This was the first time she had touched him in any sort of tender way. She had poked him in the chest a few times and that was flirting with his limit. With this however one couldn't even see the limit how see had crossed it.

Vegeta felt incensed by the woman's audacity, yet right then he wanted her to never let go. Vegeta wondered how he had ended up in this predicament. _Training, _he remembered._ I must return to training. _

"Go. I don't need help. I've got training to do." Vegeta squinted at Bulma and clenched his teeth together as soon as he completed his sentence. Just speaking felt arduous. The only relief he was feeling was the woman's cool touch.

Bulma was voice firm yet kind, almost motherly."You've got to stop training for a while. I mean look at you! You're a complete wreck."

"But I feel fine. I'm a saiyan. I can take a little pain, it means nothing to me and I have to get stronger than Kakkarot."

"Okay, sure. We all know you're a tough guy, but you need to rest now," Bulma told him, rubbing his back softly.

Vegeta immediately felt his anger return. _How dare she?! _"I take orders from no one!" In order to prove his point, he tried to stand up, but immediately fell forwards and landing face first. He felt very cold for no explicable reason. _I might die, _it dawned on Vegeta. A_gain_.

.

* * *

_Present time._

The woman's motives had been utterly confusing to Vegeta at the time. He may have been a valuable ally against the threat of the androids, but that was a purely formal arrangement. The concern the woman had shown him was sincere. The only other person who had ever displayed such compassion towards him was his mother, a long time ago. It did not make sense for Bulma to have any such emotional connection to him. She should have despised him.

From what Vegeta could gather he fell into a coma after the GR-explosion incident. He did not remember anything of what happened the next few days, except for one lucid dream.


	3. Planet City

**Author's note: Hey guys, sorry for the long wait on this chapter, I have simply been very busy lately and I didn't want to publish anything sub-par. I hope you will continue to enjoy my writing. Please do post some reviews; any feedback is appreciated and I'll try to answer any personal messages.**

Vegeta was lying in a sofa in the ship's leisure area with his arms behind his head. The ship was completely dark except for the dark red emergency lights pulsating on and off. Vegeta had parked his spaceship near a popular approach to his destination and activated the ship's distress signal. His plan was to lure in some opportunistic travellers in order to interrogate them and take any loot any useful inventory.

There was only a matter of time some gullible merchants came to investigate his ship in hopes of loot or just commandeering the ship to sell it. It did not usually matter if anyone was present to object or not, merchants weren't usually anything more than pirates in businessmen's clothing.

The spaceship's intercom system suddenly came on._"Incoming radio transmission..."_

"_This is Don Gale of the Imeckian trade association. Is anyone on board? Over." _The voice was male and sounded slightly nervous. Vegeta did not respond, _best to make take them by surprise_.

The silence made the Imeckian sound even more nervous. "_We are boarding the ship... lay down any arms you might have... and keep your hands where we can see them... or we will use deadly force... Over." _

Vegeta stood up and wandered over to a nearby window. He saw the Imeckian space-cruiser approaching slowly. It was an ugly old grey cargo-ship at least one kilometre long and two hundred metres wide. The ship was perfectly rectangular except for the window-encased control station that stuck out on the top front of it.

When the opposing vessel was close enough, it extended a landing bridge over to the hatch of Vegeta's spaceship. A loud clang resonated through the vessel when the bridge locked on. Vegeta wandered over to the control station and opened the hatch. He did not want his guests to have to break down the door. _Maybe I should also put the kettle on, _Vegeta mused.

Vegeta slowly drifted to the main chamber where the gravity enhancer was located. On the newest model which Vegeta was using, there was a remote control for gravity simulator, which Vegeta picked up for safe keeping. He sensed five different power sources entering his spaceship, which were verified by the sound of footsteps from the decompression chamber. It would have been easy, enjoyable even, to just kill four of the intruders and interrogate the last one. However they might have tried to destroy the spacecraft with themselves in it once they realized the true cruelty of their predicament.

The footsteps grew louder. "Is anyone here? Show yourselves." One of the guests called out.

"I'm in here." Vegeta called out coldly in order to lure them into the central chamber.

Vegeta could hear the same voice whispering to his comrades now. "Mize, you search the other rooms, use the radio if something comes up. The rest of you are with me, let's go get this fucker and take the ship."

_How predictable, that fits me perfectly. _Vegeta had to stifle a chuckle.

The four merchants entered the chamber soon afterwards. It was hard to see exactly what their uniforms were in the pulsing emergency lights; they looked like shadows, but it was clear that they were all wearing dark hooded cloaks and masks with red triangular eye slits. They were also equipped with hand held power-blasters, older models, but sufficient to blow a hole in the ship.

Vegeta had made himself visible and was leaning against the control panel of the GR. Though the aliens face were completely hidden by their masks, Vegeta could feel the intense fear radiate from them.

"Put your hands in the air now!" The one alien, who seemed to be in charge, ordered.

Vegeta put his hands up, as well as transparently activating the GR with the remote. "_50 times earth's regular graivty, activated," _the automated intercom helpfully informed.

The four merchants dropped simultaneously as if they were performing some sort of choreographed dance move, their music being the sound of pained grunts, crunching bones and breaking glass.

Vegeta turned off the gravity and went to have a chat with his last _living_ visitor.

* * *

Planet City, also fondly called "Planet shitty" by the majority of it's less affluent inhabitants, orbited within a system at the edge PTO's former empire. The planet was half the size of Earth and covered completely by a thick metropolis, the metallic grey making the planet look like an oversized spherical spaceship. The planet was an important centre of commerce in the outer systems, thus it was infested with various species. The planet had been a squalid shithole as long as anyone could remember. What the planet originally looked like and who originally inhabited it was a mystery few people cared to even think about.

According to the last one of the Imeckian merchants, the planet had aligned itself with the Blue Brenchians after the PTO's dissolution. In return for a hefty tribute and some military support, the planet was left to exist as it always had; miserably.

Vegeta donned a black cloak he had looted from the Imeckians. The heavy hood on the cloak pulled his hair down uncomfortably, but this was necessary to prevent anyone from recognizing him, after all his hair was his most recognizable feature.

His infamy was spread thickly throughout the former PTO. "The Monstrous Ape Prince of the Saiyans" most called him, among other less flattering titles. As much as Vegeta enjoyed basking in the fear of those around him, he could do without the attention for the time being. He was no longer under Frieza's protection and notorious genocidal murderers tend to incite grudges. Having blatantly insulted almost every important being in the universe to their face did not help either.

Vegeta's spaceship slew down as it entered Planet City's atmosphere. The diverse skyscrapers seemed to rise out of the smog as if they were built on clouds. At first glance it almost seemed like heaven, but that initial impression was most misleading.

"_Automated radio transmission received." _The intercom clicked before it played the pre-recorded welcome._ "Welcome to Planet City, the vibrant centre of trade and finance in the outer Galaxy. We hope you enjoy your stay." _The message was performed by an attractive sounding female voice, but even the voice actor couldn't hide how utterly disingenuous and vaunting the welcome actually was. The rest of the message was rapid and without any elegance. _"Please make your way to landing bay. Four-four-five-point-two, the coordinates have been transmitted to your vessel's computer system. Please have your entry papers ready and enjoy your stay." _Vegeta looked down at the entry permit he had borrowed from the Imeckians, seeing as they would no longer need it._ "Entry-can-not-be-guaranteed-any-illegal-or-undocumented-visitors-may-be-detained-banished-or-executed-without-process-asylum-will-not-be-granted-under-any-conditions." _

* * *

The Imeckian documents proved most useful. Apparently they were really important customers to Planet City, thus their entry made passing through the various checkpoints smooth and without turbulence.

Vegeta now found himself wandering the lower levels of the metropolis. The lower you travelled on the planet, the lower on the social ladder you came. The squalor of lower levels was a grave contrast to the pristine penthouses in the sky. The light from the planet's star didn't even reach down here despite it being midday. The overlapping catwalks and thick smog made sure of that. The only light-sources were the neon signs on the various establishments, making the thick smog turn blood red. He wasn't even halfway to ground level, yet he was already disgusted. He did not want to imagine, much less know, what it was like at the bottom.

Finally Vegeta found what he was looking for, a humble bar with an odd alien name beyond pronounceable. By the door assorted prostitutes of all shapes and size were leaning against the wall, preying on any comer and goer inebriated or horny enough to part with some of their money for a vulgar tumble in a back alley.

Vegeta passed through the glass plated door, ignoring the propositions lodged at him by the whores. The bar was barely less dark then outside, but at least it was free from the thick smog, instead being filled with a lighter cloud of cigarette smoke. The bar was empty except for a couple of patrons sitting slumped by the bar.

Vegeta strode forward to bar counter. He was greeted by a blue, snouted alien who greeted him courteously. "Hey Friend, what can I get y-?"

"Where can I find Melierax?" Vegeta brusquely interrupted. He had no intention of staying at this miserable bar and planet any longer than necessary.

"Oh you have business with ol' bird-face? He's sitting at one of the tables in the back of the bar." The bartender pointed towards a dark silhouette of a creature whom Vegeta frustratingly had not spotted initially.

"Do you want to order something firs-?" The bartender asked, but Vegeta walked away before he could complete his question. As Vegeta approached the creature he could make out more and more details in the dim light: the white feathers, the winged arms, the sleeveless robe. The silhouette was reading and interacting with a data-pad that covered most of his face. Vegeta sat down opposite the Accipiter, unannounced.

The avian alien quickly finished up and lay down his pad on the table, revealing his yellow eagle-like eyes that seemed to bore holes with their intensity, as well as a short but stout brown beak. The bird studied Vegeta a while before rising his cheek bones to artificially display a joyous recognition.

"Vegeta! I hardly recognized you with that hooded cloak, but that quintessential frown of yours gave you away." Melierax's voice was croaky yet fluid and gentle at the same time; his politeness however, Vegeta knew, was purely professional. "It's been too long old friend. How long has it been? Do you want something to drink?"

"Cut the niceties Mel," Vegeta snarled.

"Of course! It's been so long that I have nearly forgotten that you have never been one for idle chatter. What do I owe the honour of your visit?"

"I'm obviously here to do business," Vegeta announced as he pulled down his hood to free his hair.

Melierax, also known just as Mel, was a member of an organization that solely traded in rare and sensitive secrets. They gave no name, but they were commonly known as the Marketmen. They would purchase valuable information from anyone with something worth while and sell it to interested parties who could afford it. From the puissant influence and fear the organization inspired, Vegeta could only assume that they turned a hefty profit.

"On Planet City it's considered normal etiquette to have a short and informal chat before discussing business. _Surely,_ we can catch up over a couple of drinks before we commence. I mean: what have you been up to the last two years since your last visit?"

"No." Vegeta said, void of any emotion. Mel had been a marketman just over a decade, but was already considered one of their most talented vendors. He was well practised in the art of making people unintentionally blurt out any valuable information before they were ready to part with it. He was also expert at reading people's emotions and reactions to decipher truth from them. Some people claimed that he always knew when someone lied to him by studying subtle cues which only his sharp eyes could detect. Vegeta knew he would have to tread carefully to avoid giving Mel the upper hand.

Mel sighed in disappointment. "Very well, at least let me buy you a drink for old time's sake." Without giving Vegeta time to reject his latest offering, Mel stood up and waved to the barkeep. "Snout-face bring my good friend here a glass of your best cocktail, be sure it's not poisonous to saiyans. I don't need you accidentally killing another one of my customers."

Mel was sipping on a drink of his own, but Vegeta bet he simply stored the liquid in his craw in order to spit it out later if there was any alcohol in his drink to begin wtih. Vegeta knew this game; Mel was simply obfuscating the fact that he was trying to fish for information, free of charge.

Melierax then sat down and began nonchalantly flipping through his data-pad again. "So are you looking to buy, sell or trade?" He asked without looking up.

"I need any reliable information you might have about any other saiyan survivors."

Mel's eyes quickly snapped up, his interest obvious. "Hmm. . . As a matter of fact I do have some exciting information on that very subject, but it's gonna cost you and from the data available to me, you shouldn't be in possession of ten million credits."

"Give me the information I want and Ill brief you thoroughly on Namek and the status of Cooler, Frieza and King Cold. In addition I want two hundred thousand credits," Vegeta proposed .

Mel's only reaction was a short yet mild widening of his eyes. "Concise as always, eh Vegeta? This is most interesting, but how can I verify the authenticity your information? Besides everyone has already assumed that everyone in the Cold dynasty is dead and I suspect you will simply confirm this conclusion."

Vegeta felt his temper rising."Don't try to play me, Mel, we both know this information is worth a fortune either way. Everyone who matters will want to confirm or disprove this before they do anything too rebellious."

Mel scratched the underside of his beak and glazed contemplatively at nothing in particular. He eventually snapped his eyes back to Vegeta. "I'll tell you what Vegeta. I'll accept your little deal, _if _I can site you as the source of the information."

That might have seemed reasonable to anybody else, but Vegeta knew the consequences. If he listed himself as the source of the information, all of his old rivals would be aware of his survival; some would definitely take immediate measures to see him dead."I can only agree to that if you promise not to reveal my latest locations to anyone."

Mel sighed. "You know I can't do that. That information is worth a fortune and you surrendered it the moment you entered this bar."

Vegeta lowered his voice nearly to a growl. "Careful Mel, Frieza isn't around to protect you and your associates any more."

Mel met Vegeta's gaze head on. "That is most true Vegeta, but the same applies to you, more so in fact. You've made a number of enemies in your time. _And _if you cross us, we might just leak all information about your whereabouts to a long list of parties with a score to settle with you," he explained calmly.

"Frankly Vegeta, when you spend most your life murdering billions of people, you're bound to. . ._ agitate _a fair amount of other people. Hell, after your little visit to my home planet a few years back, most of my species wanted to see you dead, and they still do, well after your visit most of my race were killed, but you get my point. _But_ _I_ don't feel that way of course. We killed one of your saiyan comrades I believe, a fair exchange really. Even if it was five billion to _one_."

"My comrade was not killed by your people. _I _killed him that day," Vegeta corrected, putting emphasis on the "I".

"And who said you discriminated against races!" Mel awarded himself a short crow's laugh, but quickly recomposed himself. "In all seriousness Vegeta, I do actually like you."

"Is that so?" Vegeta asked, not believing a word of it.

Mel lay his claws flat on the white synthetic table. "You and I, we aren't really that different."

"We're not?" Vegeta asked mockingly

_Might as well humour him, _Vegeta thought.

"We both do, what, we have to do, to survive in this harsh universe. It's either kill or be killed out there and we both, in our respective ways, choose to _kill." _Mel started scratching behind is ear-hole. "Really Vegeta, I don't want to sell your location to someone who might want to kill you, but there is no other way for me to do this deal. _Besides _I bet you can deal with most of the silly fools who'd dare pursue you anyway."

Vegeta hated it, but he needed the info which only Mel could provide, lest he would be flying blind in space. Incurring a manhunt against himself was simply a risk he would have to take; it was a quite exciting challenge in a way.

"You have a deal," Vegeta deadpanned.

Mel raised his cheekbones in genuinely happy approval and pulled his data pad closer in order to write notes. "Excellent! Please start from the beginning at Namek, walk me through everything that happened. I'll provide your side of the deal when you're done."

Vegeta spent the next half an hour explaining the various events since Namek. He left out a few crucial details such as the dragonballs and his short _lived_ death. He also left out the more. . . _personal _details from his time on earth. Vegeta did not take a single sip from his complimentary drink during the entire process.

When he was done, Mel leaned contently back into seat. "Well that's quite the story Vegeta. This _Trunks _character. . . A saiyan is he? "

"He does not look like any saiyan I've ever seen, but he used an exclusively saiyan transformation." _And there was something familiar about him that I can't figure out._

"Fair enough, well you have yet again proven yourself an invaluable informant Vegeta, this information will do me wonders." Mel made a few more adjustments on his data-pad.

Vegeta started rolling his fingers on the table separating them, awaiting a response from Mel. Prolonged silence erupted as Mel continued playing with his little monitor, irking Vegeta's ire. "Don't you think it's time for you uphold your end of the deal?" Vegeta finally snapped.

Mel's attention was immediately refocused on Vegeta. He grinned that disingenuous grin of his again. "Of course! I am terribly sorry Vegeta. I was simply so overwhelmed by all this new data that I forgot that you have urgent business of your own to consider." Mel started to knowingly drag his clawed hand over the pad . "Just let me find the relevant file. . . Here it is; Various eye witness accounts of unidentified hominids spotted in a minor outer galaxy in the Fornax cluster, end quote. The hominids engaged in trade but were unwilling to discuss their home planet or other place of origin. End quote. The hominids were mostly described as stocky, black haired, and tailed. End quote."

The news was unanticipated; his throat grew tight, but couldn't afford reveal any distress to Mel.

"Just take drink a bit of your cocktail, if you need to clear your throat," Mel prescribed courteously, his eyes radiating sinisterness.

_That slimy bastard._

"No need," Vegeta coughed nonchalantly. "Could I get the complete files."

"Just let me upload the files to an external drive." Mel started flicking through his data-pad again. "Wow! Here's something interesting. _Vegeta. . . _spotted at planet Candar at the edge of the Andramada galaxy. Do you know anything about that?"

"Not a clue," Vegeta deadpanned again.

Mel seemed disappointed rather than surprised. "I suppose you're telling the truth. This hominid's description doesn't match you. For one he is too short and reportedly he possessed a kind demeanour. Now _that's_ something I'd like to see. A most convincing lookalike otherwise."

"Can I please have my files so that I can leave this shithole."

Mel tossed the small datadrive which Vegeta reflexively grabbed in one hand. "It's all in there," Mel announced. "Every nook and cranny, a well as your payment. So what are you going to do now? Reclaim your kingdom? Build a galactic Empire? Please take a drink and tell me, I'm practically _dying_ to know."

"You _would_ actually die if you knew," Vegeta mused out loud. He stood up took his untouched cocktail before downing it in one gulp.

"_Charming_,"Mel snorted.

"Goodbye Melierax."

"Take care, old friend," Mel said as if it were his final farewell. _Hopefully it will be,_ Vegeta thought as he left the dismal establishment.


	4. Where art thou?

_Many years earlier. _

_Planet Vegeta._

Vegeta was almost three years old and trembling with excitement. "So am I going to get a sister or a brother Cumber?" He asked eagerly.

Cumber sighed in exasperation. "A brother; I told you an hour or so ago, prince. And please try to contain yourself, you're father will be angry if he sees you acting undisciplined again."

Vegeta immediately slouched and sat down on a nearby bench.

Cumber was Vegeta's chief bodyguard as well as his tutor. He was a short, but stocky man with a narrow face and a long pointed nose. His hair was black and short, but spiky like every saiyan's. He was picked as Vegeta's tutor because he was a wise and tested warrior; a faded scar across his right eye testified to his battle experience. Vegeta liked Cumber. Despite his rugged appearance, he wasn't as harsh as his father. Perhaps it was because he had had seven children of his own, but he was always patient and gentle in his reprimands.

They were waiting in the hallway by the medical wing of the palace. When Vegeta heard his mother was giving birth to his first sibling, he had demanded to be taken there immediately. He had been waiting there for two hours now, with Cumber and another younger and stout bodyguard named Paprik.

Vegeta remembered something disconcerting he had read about the laws of succession during his studies. "Cumber, what will happen if my brother becomes stronger than me?" He asked solemnly, staring down at the ground. He did not want to show that he was concerned by the prospect.

Cumber grimaced slightly and seemed unsure of how to phrase his answer. "Well, uhm. That would mean-."

"Then your brother will become the new heir apparent," Paprik brusquely cut in.

Vegeta felt a lump in his throat emerge. The event suddenly wasn't as joyous an occasion as he had first assumed.

Cumber gave Paprik menacing look, forcing the taller long haired saiyan to immediately shy away from his glare. Cumber then sighed and sat down next to Vegeta.

"You don't need to worry prince, you are the strongest saiyan to have been born for centuries and it's unlikely that you will ever be surpassed in your own lifetime."

"Only _unlikely_," Vegeta murmured.

"Whether he is stronger or weaker than you Vegeta, he will be your brother and he will need your help. We saiyans are always stronger when we fight together. Remember that. The common good is more important than our personal glory."

The door to the infirmary opened and a nurse stepped out. "The boy is born, you may enter now."

All earlier concerns were quickly forgotten and Vegeta jumped out of his seat and was just about to sprint inside before he heard Cumber's chastising voice. "_Discipline. . . _Young Vegeta."

Vegeta immediately composed himself and marched almost mechanically inside. His infant brother was lying in a bassinet behind a glass wall, wailing his eyes out. Various medical staff were walking back and forth attending to the young child. Supposedly an infant who cried straight after birth was a poor omen, as it suggested that the child was soft hearted.

Vegeta spotted the silhouette of his father entering through a doorway accompanied by the palace's chief doctor. Vegeta turned and smiled to his father, wanting to share the moment with him. However when the king's face emerged from the shadows, it was anything but sentimental.

He suddenly gripped the doctor by scruffs of his uniform. "What do you mean his power level is only one hundred?!" Vegeta had never before seen his father so angry, it frightened him, but apparently not nearly as much as it frightened the doctor

"S-s-sorry your grace. . . but we have run the tests five times already, there is no doubt."

"Well then he is no son of mine, the boy must be a bastard!"

Vegeta was enraged by the insinuation that his mother had betrayed his father. "THAT'S NOT TRUE! MOTHER WOULD NEVER-."

His father glared down at him and the rest of his rant refused to leave the safety of his throat. "Cumber! Why is the prince here when he should be training," the king questioned, the vestiges of rage still hiding in his voice.

Cumber went down on one knee and dared not meet his king's eyes. "The prince demanded to be present here, your majesty," Cumber explained.

Vegeta hated it when his elders spoke about him as if he wasn't even there.

"Return him to training, work him until the sunrise. _And_ keep him indoors," his father ordered nonchalantly, waving a hand to dismiss them.

"You're majesty. . . Do you believe such harshness is truly necessary?" Cumber asked cautiously.

The king's eye started twitching. "Are you second guessing my orders lieutenant?" He managed to ask despite his jaw being clenched so tightly Vegeta thoguht his teeth would shatter.

Cumber was quick to haphazardly recant his soft objection. "No your highness! We'll leave right away, you're highness."

Vegeta felt reluctant to leave; he wanted to see his mother, though he would never dare to bring this desire to anyone's attention. He stood there a moment violently clenching his fists in anger. He eventually felt Cumber's hand on his back guiding him towards the door. Vegeta calmed down and walked towards the exit. He gave his infant brother one more look; he was sleeping calmly now.

Vegeta hesitated at the door. "What's his name?" he asked nervously.

His father gave him a sideways glance and sighed in exasperation. Vegeta did not notice before now that his father looked utterly exhausted. "His name is Tarble," he disclosed.

"_Vegeta_? Is Vegeta there?" Vegeta recognized the voice as his mother; it was coming from the next room. She sounded strange, weak. Vegeta could not see what was beyond the door, due to a bright white light seemingly emanating through the doorway.

"_Vegeta. . ." _

He knew he would be scolded for it, but he wanted to see his mother; he felt concerned for her. Cumber gently tried to nudge him out back into the hallway. Vegeta feigned as if he was going to comply, but at the last moment he instead darted towards the other room where he heard his mother. The shouts and chastisements that followed him be damned.

When he entered the room, everything turned dark and silent. Vegeta couldn't see his father, Cumber or anybody. A savage giant ape suddenly appeared and started destroying the palace. It frightened Vegeta almost as much as it disgusted him. He hated the ape beyond words. Vegeta mustered an energy attack which he zealously launched at the giant creature. The apparition however simply shattered into pieces. He then realized; It had been a mirror.

* * *

Vegeta abruptly woke up. He was breathing heavily and sweating. He pinched the bridge of his nose. He wanted nothing more than to cry out in despair, but that would be weakness. It did not matter that he was alone, it was still weakness. _I'm in control_.

A few hours of intense training was enough to remedy his mind of all disruptive thoughts and memories. Vegeta leant his head against the tiled wall of his shower. The steaming water trickled down his body in every direction, following the groves of his muscles.

It had been 4 days since he left Planet City and he was already feeling spacesick again. _Why didn't that bitch install a stasis-device?! _Vegeta pulled back and knocked his forehead against the wall, sending cracks spiralling from the point of impact. Vegeta turned the water off and pulled his head back to brush away the debris newly plastered to his head. At least he would arrive at planet Candar in a few hours and be able to stretch his legs, as well as replenish his wavering sanity and who knew, maybe satiate his lust for blood as well.

Candar was a fairly insignificant planet located a few systems over from planet Namek. There usually was little to no reason in visiting it, but now he had business there. "_Vegeta spotted at planet Candar." _Mel's words would not leave him; he just had a feeling there was something very important behind the report.

The time passed so slowly that it almost felt as if it had stopped. Much to Vegeta's relief the intercom eventually announced his arrival.

Candar had a very rugged and mountainous landscape. There was water on it's surface, but no oceans. The landscape however was overrun with mighty fjords in every direction.

The indigenous species, the Candarians, were a most unique phenomenon. Their skin was usually so grey and scaled that they were often confused with being rocks. They were in addition usually three and a half meters tall and had red glowing eyes. There were no other species like them in the universe.

Landing on the planet was no issue. Despite a decent average intelligence, the Candarians were not a very advanced civilization due to issues with population growth. The planet was only partially covered by settlements usually dug into various mountain sides. The Candarians didn't have the means to regulate travel to and from their planet, so they tended to just let species come and go as they please. In fact one fifth of the planets sapient populace were alien immigrants.

* * *

"They_ have as much personality as the stones they resemble," _was a popular saying about the Candarians. They all had monotone voices and unalterable facial expressions. Quite frankly one could find more personality among real rocks and would be just just as likely to evoke an emotional reaction from them.

Vegeta found this characteristic most annoying as it stood to take all the joy out of killing them. What entertainment was there in threatening and intimidating someone if the only response you got was blank gaze and dreary objection in response?

It was nightime when Vegeta landed his ship out in the wilderness. It was nearly pitch black all around him except for a few rocky mountains silhouetted by moonlight. Vegeta did not need to look up to know a moon was present; he could feel the blutz waves sinking into his skin, and shiver down his spine all the way down to his tail-bone, where it dissipated. He felt a familiar feral urge brewing within him, but it was not able to break loose.

Digressions aside, Vegeta had to find a particular someone on the planet. The only problem was that the only clue he had was that this person had been confused for him. He supposed such a person would have to be at least stronger than average, so it should have been possible for him to sense him. It was his only lead to go on.

Vegeta sat down in the moss and crossed his legs. In order to sense power levels over an entire planet, he would have to focus. Vegeta closed his eyes and gradually blocked out all unnecessary stimuli, except for the sound of running water from some nearby brooks that been carved through the rocks.

There was a collection of decently powerful beings just a few thousand miles north of his location. They all seemed to be following, or pursuing, a slightly weaker one. There was something eerily familiar about that energy source, like he had encountered it before.

Vegeta snapped out of his meditation. "Got ya!"

It only took him half an hour to cover the distance to his target, who was flying through a unearthly deep canyon. He choose to stand back and observe from afar before rushing in to resolve whatever was going on. It may after all just be a false alarm.

Vegeta kept his energy level as low as possible and followed the edge of the cliff where he had an overview of what was transpiring. It was definitely a pursuit; he could see that energy blasts were being thrown at the weak one ahead of all the others. It was hard to see what the different participants looked like, seeing as it was dark and everything was happening close to a kilometre below him.

Up ahead of the ongoing chase the canyon came to a dead end, where the cliff was curved over the outwards preventing an escape for the from the bottom. Vegeta jumped down onto a ledge a few hundred meters into the canyon to get a closer look. The skirmish seemed to be nearing a conclusion, and he needed more info soon if he was going to be able interfere at all.

At closer inspection it looked like the prey had finally been cornered by his assailants at the wall of the canyon. It was hard to see much, but he suspected that the person being chased was the one being confused with him. He did possess a dark spiky mane as well as a tail. A bipedal squidfaced alien took a few steps forward. "Give yourself up Vegeta! There is nowhere for you to run, you're done! We'll get more money if we deliver you alive, so just give up."

Vegeta frowned. _Do they honestly think catching __**me**__ would be that easy?_

"You've got it all wrong! I told you, I'm not Vegeta!" The cornered man cried in despair. "Please stop!"

Vegeta's breath caught in his throat. _That voice? It can't be!_

The gang of sixteen bounty hunters broke out in laughter before Squidface spoke up again. "Yeah right! Don't try to play us, you match the description exactly. Well if you won't come quietly I guess, we'll just have to kill you."

Hesitantly, Vegeta turned around to leave. Vegeta did not know if he should intervene or not. On the one hand, _helping _people was just not in his nature and if people heard he had been caught or killed, that meant they would stop hunting for him, at least temporarily. On the other hand this younger man was a saiyan and. . .

* * *

_Many years earlier._

_Planet Vegeta. _

The red sun was setting on the desert plains of Planet Vegeta making the sands look as if they were stained with blood, the laughter of children the only intrusion on the serene scene. Vegeta was playing with his younger brother, Tarble, who had just turned three. "Ok, ready or not here I come!"

Vegeta flew a few hundred metres into the air and hovered there in order to scan his surroundings. There was no sign of his brother's light blue armour or red cape, but, there was a small discrepancy on one of the sand dunes nearby. Vegeta flew over and landed, standing on the small bulge in the sand. "Found you."

The sand began to stir and Vegeta hopped off as his brother emerged out of the ground. "No fair!" He moaned as he began brushing the sand off. "You only found me because you can fly."

Much to their fathers shame, Tarble hadn't learned how to fly yet despite heavy efforts to teach him. Vegeta on the other hand had begun flying almost as soon as he had learned to walk. Vegeta grabbed his little brother by the collar of his armour. Tarble slowly looked up and seemed to recognize the smirk on his face. "No! Please! Stop!"

"If you're gonna complain about it, do something about it," Vegeta lectured pseudo-parentally before throwing his brother a few thousand meters into the air, the sounds of his screams and curses dissipating the further away he travelled.

When Tarble reached the zenith of his flight, it became obvious that he would _not_ rise to the occasion and spontaneously learn to fly. Vegeta let him reach maximum velocity before he flew up and plucked him out of his fall.

"You jerk! If you ever do that again, I'm going to kick your head in!" Tarble unrealistically threatened all the while gesticulating violently.

"Quit squirming or I'll drop you, maybe you'll learn how to fly then."

They landed on top of the tallest dune in sight and Tarble immediately sat down tired from the earlier exertions. Vegeta folded his hands behind his head and lay down in the sand a few meters away from his brother. Some sand got caught in his cape, but he didn't mind; he closed his eyes and took this rare opportunity to just relax. They lied there for a few minutes before Tarble broke the silence.

"Brother?" Vegeta could hear that his brother had copied his pose next to him.

"Hm?"

Tarble seemed hesitant "Are we always going to be brothers?"

"Of course we are!" Vegeta snorted. "What do you mean?"

"Well, will we always-"

He was interrupted by the calls of their mother. "Vegeta! Tarble! It's time for you to come inside, there is going to be a full moon tonight."

Vegeta opened his eyes and looked around to find her standing on the dune next to them dressed in a ankle-long white and grey robe. She looked as beautiful as always with her black locks curtaining either side of her long narrow face and the spiky ponytail resting on her shoulder.

"Mom!" Tarble joyfully cried, shooting over to hug on to one of her long legs, his previous enquiry to Vegeta completely forgotten.

Vegeta stood up and walked over in a more reserved manner as demanded of him. When he was within range, his mother ruffled his hair.

"_Mooom! _Stop," Vegeta huffed, swatting at her hand until she relented.

His mother simply laughed and looked down at him with those loving and adoring eyes, that always made Vegeta feel like an innocent little child. He wondered if she would always be able to look at him with those eyes, no matter what he did.

"Tarble run along, we'll catch up with you."

Tarble released his grip on her leg and ran off back towards the palace without question. Such was the authority their mother had over him. When he was a safe distance away, she turned to Vegeta.

"Geta, I need you to promise something to me."

Vegeta scratched the back of his neck. "What?"

"That you'll always protect and take care of Tarble. It might seem stupid, but it's very important that you promise it to me."

"Sure, I promise," Vegeta shrugged as if it was the simplest request ever and went without saying.

His mother smiled happily at him and tapped his shoulder, instructing him to go back to the palace.

* * *

_Present time. _

"Damn it!" Vegeta sighed in frustration. He turned back around, towards the scene unfolding beneath him. He had made up his mind.

**Author's note: I hope that wasn't a cliffhanger, but I guess you all know what's going to happen next. Sorry for another late update, I'll try to get the next one out a bit quicker. Shout-outs to pannybaby123, sp4rkl3 and LVR4Trunks-n-Vegeta (congrats on the accurate prediction btw); I really appreciate the positive feedback. Please keep the reviews, follows, favourites and personal messages coming. If there is anything you think I can do better, please let me know. **


	5. Brothers

The bounty hunters slowly started advancing on Tarble; who was beginning to panic for everyone to see, backing into the canyon wall and looking every available direction for a fanciful escape route.

"I would not bother with him if I were you!" Vegeta called out from behind the ledge where he would not be easily spotted. The bounty hunters were all startled and began twisting their heads back and forth in search of him. The echo created by the canyon however confused them.

The leader of the outfit, a purple faced man with a beard which consisted of tentacles, made a few quiet remarks to his comrades before responding. "Oh and why is that? Why don't you come out where we can see you? Or are you some sort of loud mouthed coward who likes to interfere in -"

He didn't finish his sentence before Vegeta had landed a few meters away from him in a crouch with his arm stretched out and his hand extended into a sideways cutting gesture. A quick moment passed and Vegeta could hear everyone holding their breath. Squidface's head suddenly tumbled off as if it had never been attached and his body fell over gushing out blood like a spilt bottle.

The rest of the bounty hunters were frozen to the spot in shock. Except for one seemingly emotionless Candarian who simply gazed at the scene with a crusty mouth slightly ajar. _I fucking hate Candarians, _Vegeta brooded.

"_Who,_ the cold hell, are you?" One of the bounty hunters managed to stammer out.

Vegeta rose up and turned towards the group of bounty hunters, scrutinizing each of them coldly before smirking. "Did you honestly believe that hunting me down was going to be that easy?"

His identity soon dawned on a few of them. "You're Vegeta?!" Two practically identical aliens affirmed in chorus. Vegeta only chuckled sinisterly in response.

A big brute among them abruptly rid himself of any visible fear. "Let's get him guys, he can't kill all of us!" He cried before charging Vegeta with reckless abandon. Most of his comrades also took heart and joined his attack, with only a few opting to hang back in hesitation.

Vegeta seamlessly cut down the enormous brute and his immediate follower in quick succession. The rest quickly had change of heart and stood slack jawed and gaping. Vegeta strolled towards the aliens as if he was merely on an innocent walk.

Most of the bounty hunters panicked and turned around to flee. Vegeta provided each of them with energy blasts in the back, making them fall to the ground like dead birds. Only two bounty hunters remained, the Candarian and a manlike fellow with violet hair who immediately began pleading.

"_Please_, spare us! We-we-we didn't know what we were getting ourselves into! We thought you were just some PTO myth! I'll give or do anything if you just spare me!" His voice was high pitched and desperate.

"Hm." Vegeta scratched his chin. "Kill the Candarian and you can go."

The Candarian's eyes widened slightly before his last comrade, without hesitation, shot a relatively petty blast into his midriff. The Candarian hunched over and grasped the new hole in his torso before falling over like a tree.

The humanoid was gasping tiredly as he turned back to Vegeta wide-eyed. "Can, I, leave now?"

"No," Vegeta answered impassively, walking up to his final victim.

Shock and fear tainted the bounty hunter's face. "But, but, you promised!"

"I lied. You have still offended my honour and I am going to pay you back with interest." The bounty hunter squealed just before Vegeta grabbed his throat. The brief sound of fleshy crunching resonated throughout the Canyon.

* * *

Vegeta dropped the ex-bounty hunter to the ground. "What a pathetic excuse for life."

Vegeta heard his brother's footsteps behind him. "Brother? Is that really you?"

Vegeta did not turn to look at Tarble. "No, I'm your fairy godmother. Who else would I be?"

Tarble ignored the snarky sarcasm. "What are you doing here? How did you find me?"

"I heard a rumour about some pathetic weakling impersonating me on this planet. You wouldn't know anything about that? _Would you?" _

Tarble sighed._"_Thanks for the help. I appreciate it."

Vegeta turned to look at his brother. "_Frankly, _I should have let those fools kill you. It would be no less than you deserve for being cornered so easily, but I couldn't have people going around saying they beat me that easily."

Irritation started to creep into Tarble's voice. "There is no need to be a jerk about it."

"Hn," Vegeta grunted. "And tell me, _dear _brother. What the FUCK are you doing here? Why aren't you on that pathetic planet you call home? _Tet-tet_? _Cech-cech?" _

"You mean Tech-Tech?"

Vegeta snapped his fingers. "That's the shitball I'm talking about."

Tarble started scratching his neck. "Well I wanted to..." He seemed hesitant to explain further, which didn't go unnoticed by Vegeta.

"On second thought, I don't even care why you're here, but you should leave before more bounty hunters arrive to play cat and mouse with you." Vegeta walked away a few feet to take off. "As for me, I've wasted enough time on this pile of rock."

"Wait!" Tarble shouted, making Vegeta hesitate. "Where are you travelling to?"

Vegeta sighed. There was no reason for him to explain his brother anything, but he didn't need the fool stalking him to find out. "The Forax systems."

"Why are you travelling there?"

"I'm searching for something."

"For what?"

"I don't know."

Tarble began scratching his neck again. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"No," Vegeta answered impassively.

"Why?"

"You know why; You're weak and soft hearted, you would only be a burden."

* * *

_Planet Vegeta. _

_Many years earlier._

Vegeta, five years of age, walked across the central court yard at the royal palace. Various servants were still cleaning up rubble that was scattered across the place. Vegeta looked where the queen's tower once stood; it was still unusual to just see empty space in it's absence. He did not want to dwell on it though. He had the rest of his life to be haunted by that tower.

The weather was as gloomy as the general mood. It was raining lightly for the first time in a year and the sky was filled with heavy, grey clouds. The usually vibrant orange, red and yellow colours of the palace seemed to have melted into a dark and stale brown. Nobody spoke about it, but there was a general feeling that something bad was going to transpire soon.

Vegeta found his brother's chamber and entered. He had good news for his brother; the only problem was that he would not appreciate how good news it actually was. Tarble was lying in his bed sleeping. He'd barely left his room lately.

Vegeta went and nudged him. "Tarble, wake up." Vegeta's voice felt stern even to himself.

"What is it?"

"Get up and get your armour, we're going to the landing bay."

Tarble raised his head. "Is mummy coming back?" He asked hopefully.

Vegeta clenched his jaw. "I told you, our mother is gone. _Forever." _

Tarble immediately buried his face into his pillow and began wailing. _Damn it, _Vegeta thought, clenching jaw even tighter.

"We don't have time for this Tarble!" Vegeta could not hide his angry exasperation. "We need to leave now!"

Vegeta went and got a set of armour from a nearby draw before walking back to Tarble and pulling the sheets off him. "Get up," he ordered with undiscovered harshness in his voice. Tarble didn't respond and only tried to bury his head deeper into his pillow. Vegeta grabbed him by the neck of his jumpsuit and began softly pulling him. Tarble reacted by kicking Vegeta's arm. That was the final straw.

Vegeta grabbed his little brother by his hair and lifted his head to make eye contact "STOP BEING SUCH A DAMN CRY BABY AND GET OUT OF BED!" Vegeta shouted into his face loud enough for the entire palace to hear. "DO AS I SAY OR I'LL GET PAPRIK AND CUMBER TO CARRY YOU!"

Tarble looked completely shocked. Vegeta had been angry with him before, but he had never berated him so viciously. It had its desired effect though. Tarble got to his feet, though unenthusiastically, and dried his eyes off with his forearm. He also slipped into his armour after Vegeta practically pushed it into his chest.

A few minutes later they were at the launching platform of the landing bay. A lone attack ball occupied the platform ahead of him. "This is it," Vegeta announced. Tarble only gave him a confused look. "Get in you're leaving."

Tarble's eyes widened. "_Leaving? _Where am I going? How long will I be there?"

"We're sending you to a distant planet with weak inhabitants. You will be there until this problem with Frieza is finished."

Tarble's eyes began watering. "But I don't want to leave!"

Vegeta crossed his arms over his chest and looked away. "You have no choice," he deadpanned.

"But I want to stay with you and help you beat Frieza."

"You can't Tarble."

"Why?"

Vegeta snapped at his brother."BECAUSE YOU'RE WEAK TARBLE! And you're soft! You will just get in the way, so do what's best for all of us and just leave!" Tarble's face embodied a look of utter hurt as soon the words were uttered.

Vegeta knew Tarble looked up to him as some sort of hero, but Tarble _had _to leave the planet. His father was seriously considering to euthanize him, so that Frieza couldn't take him hostage as well, but Vegeta had, _strenuously,_ convinced him to just send him away instead. "The destination has already been programmed into the spacepod, you just need to get in and it will take you there."

Tarble marched dejectedly to the attack ball and opened the hatch. He turned his head to look at Vegeta one last time, but Vegeta didn't grant him any more eye contact. He couldn't afford to encourage him, seeing as how bleak things were.

_When did things first become so bad? _Vegeta wondered. This would possibly be the last time he would see his brother.

* * *

_Present time._

"Vegeta, I _want _to help you. Why can't you just let me try to prove myself?" Tarble's eyes shimmered passionately and his voice was filled with conviction.

Vegeta couldn't understand why his brother was so desperate to assist him. He was sure that the last time they spoke, their relationship had been destroyed forever. _How can he still look up to me?_

"You already proved yourself earlier with those bounty hunters. You proved that you still can't fight," Vegeta snorted. Tarble tried to retort, but Vegeta beat him to it. "Listen Tarble. You've never been a true warrior and you never will be. Why don't you back to that worthless planet you became soft for?_" _

"You want me to go Tech-Tech there after what you did to the planet? A lot of people there still think I was and still am an accomplice of yours."

"And you're reaction is to try and _actually _become my accomplice? Don't be so pathetic!"

* * *

_A few years earlier. _

_Planet Tech-Tech._

"WHY DON'T YOU GROW THE FUCK UP TARBLE!?" Vegeta roared at his younger brother."This is how things work in life! The strong kill the weak to survive! There is no good or bad, it's just the way things are."

Tarble clasped his hands together. "Please brother you can't do this! These people haven't done anything wrong! They're innocent!" he pleaded.

Vegeta stretched his arm out to his side and sparks started engulfing his hand. A bright blue light emerged in his palm. He looked into his brother's eyes with self-conscious malice. "Innocence doesn't enter into it," Vegeta said in a low heartless voice. Vegeta shot his energy blast thus disintegrating an entire city in a split second.

Tarble fell to his knees in shock. He trembled as he stared at the ground in silence. The explosion caused a wind to travel away from the city through their location. A long silence erupted as Vegeta slowly walked over to his brother.

Tarble raised his head and looked up at him with vacant eyes."Y-y-you monster!" he stuttered out, lacking the emotional strength to make it much louder than a whisper.

Vegeta smirked as he slapped Tarble with the back of his hand, sending him sprawled unto his side. "Since you are a saiyan, I will spare your shameful life. My mission is to _only_ purge the natives until they surrender," Vegeta explained as if it were a rehearsed speech. "Use your scouter to evade my comrades, this mission will soon be over." Vegeta then flew into the air to join up with the rest of his squad.

He didn't spare his _brother _a second glance.

* * *

_Present time._

_I guess if anything, he's become less naïve since then, _Vegeta realized. He closed his eyes and sighed. His voice wasn't as scathing any longer, rather it became more resigned than anything. "Whatever you think you'll accomplish by joining, isn't worth it."

"How do you know?!" Tarble shouted. "All my life you've belittled me, kept me away from dangerous missions. You haven't ever let me do _my _part for our people."

Vegeta walked a few feet past Tarble and stared further down the canyon. It seemed as if it grew gradually darker the further it went, eventually leading to an abyss. "The path I've chosen is my own, Tarble. I refuse to share it with anyone. It's not going to give me joy or happiness, nor is it going to end well, I think. _But_ I've gone too far to turn back now."

Vegeta turned his head sideways to look at his brother. Tarble only stared at him. Cryptic confusion was etched onto his face. Vegeta felt the most unexplainable subtle half-smile tug at his lips. "Tarble. Go _home_."

Vegeta then abruptly flew into the air back towards his ship. This had to be the last time they met, or so he hoped.

**Author's note: Hey again guys and thanks for reading this far. Don't be shy to send me any suggestions or criticisms. This is my first fic, so if anyone has any knowledge about how to share it more efficiently, I'd appreciate that. **

**Salutations to Yuirii, Rubythe Dragon1999 and LVR4Trunks-n-Vegeta for your reviews-**


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